ajmatt blog

Easter Island was incredible, lots of hiking, moais, caves, and petroglyphs - and we of course promise lots of pictures once we get to a stable, fast Internet connection.
Right now, we’re back in Santiago airport waiting for our connection to Calama, the airport closest to San Pedro de Atacama. This town [...]

Matt and I like Santiago. It is beautiful, ringed with mountains, and mild and green even in the dead of winter. I would love to live here, if only to wake up to mountains every morning and eat at a different Chilean restaurant every night.
Santiago is typically used by tourists as a jumping off [...]

Matt and I are midway through a five-hour stop at the Toronto Airport. “Didn’t they mention they were headed south?” you might ask. “Why fly through Canada?” It’s a good question—and one the customs agent asked.
We are headed to Chile, but stopping through Toronto was not much longer and much cheaper than flying through [...]

It’s been a busy month, quite social for the introverted ajmatt blog, as evidenced by our lack of posts.
Last Sunday I went hiking with my friend Lisa in Shenandoah National Park. The park entrance is about an hour outside of DC, and our hike was at mile marker 19, about 20 miles south of the [...]

Matt and I are in Seattle for the long holiday weekend. While Matt and Austin were out buying fireworks, Lindsey (Austin’s girlfriend) and I inspected the wildlife in my parent’s yard.

The above two (super fabulous) pictures are by Lindsey. The below (boring vanilla) picture was taken by me—we’re going to have a good time once [...]

How do you know you are in the south?
In DC, shuttle drivers are mute and angry-looking.
At the Raleigh-Durham airport we were greeted by Fran, the Hertz courtesy shuttle, who gave us a hearty welcome to North Carolina. Fran was lovely, making sure everyone on the bus knew where they were going, and doling out directions [...]

Last night Matt and I waited in several rush hour runway traffic jams at Reagan National airport, but we had an excellent view. (As I took these pictures, Matt said, “You look like a tourist!” The sacrifices I make for blogging.)

Early Friday evening. Low tide. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy. 5 humans (counting myself) in sight.

Yesterday Matt and I drove 6 hours to the Outer Banks in North Carolina in an enormous (rental) SUV that had six cupholders accessible from the front seat. Really, what more do you need in life? (Maybe also to average more than 15 miles per gallon.)
Along the way we passed:

The Stonewall Jackson Shrine
A hitchhiker with [...]

(There is no continuity in this entry. I jump around from language, to museums, to duck ponds, to hockey. Hope it makes sense.)
Visiting Montréal is like a little trip to Paris (not that I’ve ever been there)—but a shorter flight and without the jet lag. The city has a European feel, tons of French food, [...]